An ink container typically includes a container body and a container cap. The cap is usually ultrasonically welded, glued or heat staked to the body after the container has been filled with ink during initial manufacturing. Once the ink has been depleted from the container, the container can be reused by refilling it with ink. To assist in refilling the ink container, the user usually either removes the cap or drills holes into the cap to provide access into the interior of the container so that ink can be added. At times the ink container cap may be fabricated of a rigid plastic material that is difficult to penetrate using a hand-held drill bit which is typically supplied with ink refill kits. Thus, drilling holes into the cap can be difficult for the user, especially for a color container where three holes are required.
Accordingly, there is a need for a means for easily removing the cap from an ink supply container to enable the addition of more ink, thereby extending the useful life of the container. Thus, there is a need for an ink container opener that allows the consumer or user to remove the container cap without drilling holes into the cap. The present invention includes a container opener which enables the consumer to remove the container cap using two L-shaped members. A first member or a base member holds the cap of the container and a second member or force applicator slips over the container body. The user pushes down and exerts force onto an end of the force applicator with the palm of his or her hand. This downward force then enables the cap to be disconnected or separated from the body. The force applicator provides a higher mechanical advantage than would be achieved by applying force directly to the container body. This is particularly advantageous for use on containers with very rigid joints between the cap and the body or with smaller container bodies. An example of such a container is the Hewlett Packard HP51649 container.